DETROIT – A ribbon cutting occurred on Detroit’s north end at an old building with a new purpose.
The work done by Cass Community Social Services and many volunteers to make the day possible occurred on Thursday (Dec. 13).
It was a full production as the halls and the rooms of the new Fox Family Center were full of workers trying to get the place move-in ready.
“We have volunteers everywhere, you know, painting, cleaning, and installing things in addition to the general contractor and all of his tradespeople,” said Cass Community Social Services Director Faith Fowler.
The Fox Center will serve as a homeless shelter for Cass Community Social Services, which can house up to 75 people.
“It just has a whole different feel, and we’re not calling it a shelter,” Fowler said. “We’re calling it a center for families. And that makes me very happy. I mean, people deserve their dignity.”
The most significant difference was the number of rooms, as there were 29. The building house once housed nuns.
Cass Community Social Services Manager Will White says the walls make the difference.
“My heart was jumping for joy more just because of the way that our current facility is set up,” said White. “It’s a congregate style of living. So it’s not the most ideal, but you have things to happen, like at night where you might have a baby crying all night. In a congregate style living, a baby crying all night means everyone else in the room was going to be woke. Their sleep is going to be interrupted.”
Now, each family will have privacy in their own space, even for large families.
“Then we have a few larger rooms like this one that could accommodate easily a family of 10, and we get families with 10, unfortunately, occasionally,” Fowler said.
Then there’s also the location of the building located on Webb and 14th streets, right near all of Cass’ campus of services.
“The nice thing is that people who will reside here will be able to take advantage of anything else offered at Cass so food and jobs and counseling,” Fowler said.
“And on top of that, it is right around the corner from the school, so the parents who have to travel to get their kids to school,” White said.
The Fox Family Center will welcome its first tenants by the end of January.